Jean-David Morvan

First of all, the artist does an amazing job of conveying the story -- the emotional impact, the action, and the connectedness of the unfolding plot -- through illustration.

Secondly, the storytelling is really quite excellent as well . . . until the end approaches, and the revelations that draw the plot together feel a bit rushed, almost like the writer had trouble figuring out how to let things unfold naturally, so he ended up just kinda dumping it in the reader's lap via awkward show more in-character exposition.

I found the wrap-up a bit jumbled, and the "big reveal" that draws the plot together somewhat difficult to swallow in its over-the-top drama, but the story as a whole was so well put together up to that point in every way that it still managed to warrant four stars, in my estimation. I have found that graphic novels from the French "comic book" market seem to enjoy some of the same virtues, and suffer some of the same vices, as the writing in Naja carried with it -- which makes sense, given the writer evidently got his start there. I think some US comic book writers could learn some things about storytelling by both reading and writing in the French market some more, and some French comic book writers could learn some things about how to tie a plot together by both reading and writing in the US market some more.

In addition to being a great read, the hardbound edition of this story is beautiful. It's going to look fantastic sitting on my shelf. show less

A book we need now more than ever.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Trigger warning for anti-Semitic violence.)

Irena Sendlerowa (maiden name Krzyżanowska) was born on February 10, 1910 in Warsaw, Poland. Shew grew up in nearby Otwock, which was home to a large Jewish community. Her father Stanisław was a physician who treated everyone, regardless of their ethnicity or ability to pay. He contracted typhus in the line of duty, and died when Irena was show more just seven. Despite being raised by a single mother, Irena attended college, studying law and literature at the University of Warsaw. She was a socialist who was outspoken in support of her Jewish classmates. Identified as a leftist, she was denied employment in the Warsaw school system.

Instead, Irena was working for the Social Welfare Department when Germany invaded Poland. Here she was uniquely positioned to provide help to Poland's most marginalized citizens. Irena's department was allowed access to the Warsaw Ghetto, ostensibly to conduct sanitary inspections and help prevent the outbreak and spread of epidemics. Here she leveraged her position to make life a little more bearable for the ghetto's 4,000 Jewish residents, by smuggling in food, clothing, and medicine - with the help of a large and ever-expanding group of family, friends, and colleagues, of course.

Irena also began smuggling out people, including dozens of children and babies, which she placed in a network of foster homes, orphanages, and religious sanctuaries. She diligently recorded the given name, fake name, and new address of each child, so that they could be reunited with their families after the war was over. In order to avoid incriminating herself in the event of a search - and making it easier for the Gestapo to find the missing children - Irena placed the names in jars, which she buried. Sadly, while her records survived the war, most of their would-be recipients did not. A majority of the children Irena and her network rescued - up to 2,500, by some estimates - were orphaned.

Perhaps the most astonishing part of Irena's story is that she was captured, interrogated, and sentenced to death in 1943. Despite repeated torture, she did not name her co-conspirators or the people they rescued. She escaped when the Żegota, a Polish resistance organization with which she'd been working, bribed a German guard. Instead of giving up or fleeing the country, Irena resumed her subversive activities, albeit under an assumed name and new occupation: Klara Dąbrowska, nurse. Irena died of natural causes in 2008; she was 98 years old.

Irena, Book One: Wartime Ghetto covers the events through Irena's capture by and escape from the Gestapo. To describe it as "powerful" is a gross understatement. It's a force, though not quite like Irena. I imagine very few things could come that close. (Later in life, Irena rarely gave interviews, and vehemently insisted that she hated the word "hero" and did not consider herself one. If she wasn't, then they simply don't exist.)

While rooted firmly in fact, the narrative does contain some fictional and downright fantastical elements. For example, Morvan identifies the murder of a young boy by a sadistic SS officer as the impetus for Irena's human smuggling; yet Wiki says that she began her operations when some friends were trapped on the Jewish side of the wall.

Still, some of the more surreal embellishments, like the ghosts (of Nethanial and the other murdered Jews, as well as Irena's father, always guiding her towards what's right) and Nethanial's loyal and prescient dog, are inspired and will bring you to tears.

Irena's Children just moved higher on my TBR list; and, imho, a desire to learn more is usually a pretty good indicator of a comic book or tv show's success.

The artwork has a Dickensian quality to it. It wasn't my favorite at first, but it grew on me. It suits the mood and content of the story perfectly.

http://www.easyvegan.info/img/irena-book-one-02-515w.jpg

As I write this review, supporters of Drumpf's border policy - which includes ramped up ICE raids across the country this weekend - are splitting hairs over terminology, questioning whether the "dog pounds" along the border qualify as "concentration camps." I am reminded of that older woman who showed up to a rally for women's rights bearing a sign that proclaims "I can't believe I still have to protest this fucking shit." I wonder what Irena would do if she lived in Texas or New York or Minnesota in June of 2019.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2019/08/09/irena-book-one-by-jean-david-morvan/ show less

Well this was unexpected and accidental find. Based on Conan stories that are now in public domain and unable to use the name of our hero in the title of volumes these are more ... unrestricted comic adaptations of Conan stories.

And I have to say I like it. These are stories in which Conan is shown as what he truly is - force of nature, force of life that aims to live to the fullest no matter the consequences. In first story we witness Conan joining the forces with Belit. As story progresses show more and as Belit loses her life we see Conan, dark and vengeful waiting on the murderer of his beloved to exact his revenge.

Second story is one I did not come across before - again, we witness Conan as he sells his martial skills to the greatest bidder and ends up in the mysterious city with no windows, city so large that entire civilization is living within its walls that never saw the sun of the outside world.

Conan is not part of the civilized world, as a matter of fact he is disgusted with civilization. He is powerful man that hates tricksters of any kind and trusts only in himself and power of his body and mind, and people who prove to be worthy of his trust that he might call friends. He is not above brigandry and outright murder, he chases women in a manner that would make him unpopular today but in all of this he is honest. He does not represent himself to be something he is not and while he might be considered epitome of might-makes-right he has a code of honor and tries to get into conflict only with people who truly deserve to meet the edge of his sword.

Art in these two stories is different but rather good. Art style is very European but it works.

As cover blurb states this version of Conan's stories is uncensored one so there is gore and sex, in a manner that reminds me of Metal Hurlant in a good way (which closes the circle because all of the techno-barbarian stories from Metal Hurlant were definitely inspired by Conan's adventures).

So overall this is very different adaptation from Marvel one. Maybe closes thing to this way of storytelling are DarkHorse adaptations, that I truly enjoyed. I am not fan of making everything dark and deadly realistic but for Conan, deadly swordsman and one-man army, approach taken by Ablaze truly works.

Highly recommended to fans of Conan and more dark fantasy approach to his adventures. show less

Irena Book One: Wartime Ghetto from Jean-David Morvan is a powerful graphic biography of one of World War II's true heroes.

Irena's life was an amazing combination of humble valor and brave compassion. The portion of her life covered by this book should serve as a wake-up call to people today, we need to find it within ourselves to care about all people even while our governments do everything possible to harm and isolate groups of people. We must fight the hate of those in power and those show more still supporting them.

The artwork is, I think, a positive aspect of this volume. It is not real intricate or overly stylized, and definitely not as if drawn for children. I think simple clean drawings serve to illustrate what is happening while also keeping the emphasis on the story rather than the artwork. There is plenty of detail to allow the pictures to add to the narrative but it is done without drawing attention to the art itself.

I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in WWII history and the Holocaust in particular. Also for anyone seeking inspiration for standing up to the illegitimate and immoral government we currently are suffering under.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss. show less